NEMA Sends Response Team to Kogi Amid Flood Displacement of 517 People

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has dispatched its emergency response team to Kogi State following severe flooding that has impacted multiple communities.

This deployment is part of the agency’s proactive measures to monitor the flood situation nationwide, as outlined in a statement released on Wednesday.

The team consists of specialists in search and rescue operations, who will offer technical support to the Kogi State Emergency Management Agency and other partners involved in rescue, evacuation, and assessment efforts in affected areas.

NEMA’s Director-General, Mrs. Zubaida Umar, announced that mobile water purification equipment has also been sent to provide clean drinking water for families affected by the floods.

It’s important to note that NEMA recently issued a warning to states at risk of flooding, urging them to prepare for possible incidents. During this alert, Umar revealed that the agency had activated all its zonal, territorial, and operations offices and prepositioned critical equipment for timely responses, including search and rescue resources and evacuation efforts to safer ground.

The states identified as particularly vulnerable to flooding include Adamawa, Taraba, Benue, Nasarawa, Kogi, Edo, Delta, Anambra, Bayelsa, Cross River, Rivers, and Kwara.

“With this activation and deployment, NEMA offices nationwide, along with technical officers, will collaborate with relevant State Ministries, Departments, and Agencies to establish Emergency Operation Centres for coordinating local emergency responses,” the statement noted.

These initiatives will encompass advocacy for at-risk communities, evacuation planning, identifying safe high ground for temporary shelters, and prepositioning equipment for rescue and evacuation. Sector leads have also been informed to prioritize the needs of displaced persons in Internally Displaced Persons camps and other safe locations.

Additionally, NEMA is working with the Military Disaster Response Units, the Nigeria Police Force, and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps to deploy disaster response personnel, Police Marine operatives, and Disaster Management Units as needed. The Nigerian Red Cross Society has also been asked to activate its volunteers.

The Director-General of NEMA urged residents in flood-prone areas, especially those near the Benue and Niger Rivers, to remain vigilant and cooperate with emergency service providers as the agency continues to monitor the situation closely.

In Kogi State alone, over 200 communities have been submerged, displacing nearly two million people due to the flooding disaster. Affected local government areas include Kogi, Lokoja, Adavi, Ofu, Ajaokuta, Idah, and Ibaji.

Data from NEMA’s website indicates that as of October 14, 2024, 1,659 individuals have been affected, 517 displaced, and 1,601 houses damaged in Kogi State.

So far in 2024, flooding has impacted 33 states across 208 local government areas in Nigeria. The data also reveals that 317 lives have been lost, 1,279,094 people affected, 713,691 displaced, 117,071 houses damaged, 2,852 injuries sustained, and 180,828 hectares of farmland affected nationwide.